South Korea’s parliament impeaches four officials as presidential vote looms

On Friday, the Democrats and other opposition lawmakers voted to impeach Choi Jae-hae, chairman of the country’s board of audit and inspection, and three top public prosecutors, including Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office chief Lee Chang-soo.

The four will be suspended from their duties until the Constitutional Court rules whether to remove them from office. Members of Mr Yoon’s ruling conservative People Power Party boycotted the votes, leaving the totals overwhelming over the threshold to impeach them.

Martial law lasted about six hours, as the National Assembly quickly voted to overrule the president, forcing his Cabinet to lift it before daybreak Wednesday.

On Thursday, Mr Yoon’s office said he decided to replace defence minister Kim Yong Hyun with Choi Byung Hyuk, a retired four-star general who is South Korea’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Vice defence minister Kim Seon Ho will be the acting minister until Mr Choi assumes the job after a parliamentary hearing. The hearing is a formality as the president holds the power to appoint ministers outside of the prime minister without the approval of lawmakers.

Mr Yoon’s office did not provide any further comments by him. He has not appeared in public since he announced in a televised address that his government was lifting the martial law declaration.

The opposition parties earlier submitted a separate motion to impeach Mr Kim, alleging he recommended that Mr Yoon impose martial law. Mr Kim had offered to resign and apologised for causing disruption and concern to the public.

Mr Kim said “all troops who performed duties related to martial law were acting on my instructions, and all responsibility lies with me”, according to the Defence Ministry.

The impeachment motion against Mr Yoon was introduced in parliament early Thursday, meaning it can be put to a vote between Friday and Sunday.

It will be scrapped if it is not voted on within 72 hours of its parliamentary introduction, but a new motion can be submitted if the current one is scrapped or voted down, according to National Assembly officials.